Posts Tagged ‘Empty Wotta’

New York City ska pioneers The Toasters will play twice at Mountain’s Edge this weekend, once on Friday and once Saturday. Here’s a clip of my conversation with founding member and frontman Robert “Bucket” Hingley:

GO!: I read somewhere about your efforts to run The Toasters according to a set of core principles. Can you tell me about those principles?

Bucket: What we’ve tried to do is always keep in touch with the fans and (not decline to) play shows because the venue wasn’t big enough or we didn’t have a nice hotel, or that kind of stuff. We still run it like a punk-rock band in that sense.

Otherwise, it’s about sticking to your own music and not trying to follow trends, and not writing tunes to sound like something because the record label wants you to do that. I think just sticking to playing 2 Tone ska music, which hasn’t always been popular, I think that’s what’s helped us stick around for a long time, because people appreciate that.

I saw The Gourds for the first time in 12 years last weekend and loved it. Here’s part of my review:

Russell introduced “Hallelujah Shine” with a stark verse of “Amazing Grace,” only to giggle halfway through while watching snowriders racing down the giant rail-jam structure standing tall behind the audience. Smith tore through one of his best songs, “LGO,” singing past his ever-present toothpick as Bernard played the song’s serpentine accordion riff.

Then Russell shifted from “Country Gal” into Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls,” tossing in a Joe Cocker impression just for fun. Or maybe to stay warm, because the band looked cold, especially Johnston. Even a few reminders of home — a colorful zarape in the kick drum, cases of Tecate beer just offstage — couldn’t make Central Oregon feel like Central Texas.

You can read the whole thing here. The video above was shot by stephsmomfr. Frequency has video of the show here and a bunch of great photos here.

Another Friday, another blog post about the music stuff that’s in GO! Magazine. And let me assure you, reader: The articles linked below are the most important music news happening right now. Nothing could possibly be bigger or more important. Nothing! Well … maybe not nothing.

-Tonight, the wonderfully rollicking, hyper-catchy Idaho trio Finn Riggins visits Silver Moon Brewing & Taproom. Opening will be Empty Wotta, a hybrid band that includes Mosley Wotta and half of Empty Space Orchestra, so get there on time.

-You can catch two solid local acts within a few dozen feet of each other on Saturday night. Head to Silver Moon at 8 p.m. for bluesman Eric Tollefson, and then wander next door to the Tulen Center for the Person People show. Tollefson says he’s getting started early so everyone can see the PP set. How considerate of him! (Note: If you click that link, you’ll also see a blurb about David Bowers playing McMenamins on Wednesday. That is not happening. The Bowers Colony canceled, and the Portland-based electro-jam band Alpaca will perform instead.)

So yeah, click the links. If you’re a subscriber, you’ll be able to read them. If you’re not, you’ll either need to subscribe or pick up a print version of The Bulletin.